PAME salutes the struggle of textile and garment workers in Bangladesh. Since late October, workers at more than 700 factories have taken mass, militant strike action to demand an increase in the minimum wage, the reinstatement of colleagues dismissed for their trade union activity, and an end to the employers’ blacklist, which keeps records on workers to prevent them from getting jobs at other factories.

Factory owners and multinational clothing companies rely on cheap labour to make their huge profits. They have the backing of the Bangladeshi government, which deploys its security forces against workers to defend employers’ interests. We condemn this state repression and violence. We demand the immediate release of all those arrested and an end to the persecution of workers.

From the factories of Bangladesh to the picket lines across Europe, we face the same adversary: capital, which profits from our exploitation, and the states and governments that defend it. To protect those profits, they keep our wages low, strip away our rights and expect us to pay and work for their wars.

On 30 October, dockworkers from 22 countries held a historic strike. They showed what the working class can achieve when it organises and coordinates its struggle against capital, governments and imperialist alliances.

Drawing on that momentum and experience, we are organising a nationwide general strike in Greece on 25 November. We are striking for higher wages and collective agreements, against the rising cost of living, and to demand that public funds go to healthcare and education for the people instead of paying for wars and boosting the profits of those who exploit us.

Fellow workers in Bangladesh, you are not alone! PAME, workers and trade unions in Greece stand with you in your fight for higher wages and for your right to organise in your unions and take collective action. Your struggle is our struggle, and it will prevail!